


Blankets aren't helping, so what now?

by Im_Doogle0w0



Category: Undertale (Video Game)
Genre: Abusive Relationships, Blue is hands down the best partner ever, Cinna is a softy, Cinna more like cinnamon roll, Edge is an Asshole, Fluff and Angst, M/M, Physical Abuse, Sickfic, Soulmates
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-25
Updated: 2020-12-25
Packaged: 2021-03-11 04:27:30
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,300
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28289172
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Im_Doogle0w0/pseuds/Im_Doogle0w0
Summary: Sick days are the worst days, but Blue has an idea that will warm his mate's soul...A Christmas gift for a dear jellybean of mine! Cinna is their version of UF Sans, please mind the tags!
Relationships: Swap!Sans/OC
Kudos: 2





	Blankets aren't helping, so what now?

Cinna  let out a pathetic moan . H is fists  were clenched tight as he held them over his sockets to ward off the light that was much too  bright, he was curled up as much as he could be on the couch that seemed too small for him, tucked  away  with blankets and pillows . The only thing okay about the situation was that  Blue was by him . The Swap’s hand  lay lightly on the other’s shoulder, stroking it gently and looking  sympathetic as he gently chatted to the other, tryin g to be the best company for Cinna . His mate was sick again, and it was  bad this time. 

The other was barely lucid and sore. Blue had been terrified when he came home to find his mate burnt out on the ratty leather couch when he was _supposed_ to be in the hospital. It had been a few days since then, and Cinna had only gotten just a little better. To Blue though, it felt like no amount of hot soup and blankets would fix it. He was keeping morale high, though! More for his own sake, the last thing he needed was to feel worthless.   
  
Blue took his mates fists away from his socket and rubbed them gently, smiling sadly as he saw the other attempt to squeeze Blue’s hand. Cinna’s fingers barely twitched against him. His mate was getting betterfor sure, and Blue was certain it wouldn’t dust the other, it was just a cold, after all. But any illness seemed to hit his mate twice as hard, a big thanks to his weak soul, and the fact that the littlest things could send him spiralling into an overstimulated meltdown...    
  
Blue loved his mate for who he was, though, and he would be there for the other always! Besides, Cinna hadn’t let him leave his side yet, so there wasn’t anywhere else to be! It did make it rather hard to make soup, though.    
  
The Swap was jolted out of his thoughts when Red inhaled loudly and opened his mouth to speak, a harsh cough escaping him. “...Cold...” Cinnacroaked weakly, opening his sockets for the first time in a while. His pupils were hazyand distant. His normally bright and vibrant pinpoints of ruby red were muted and washed out. Blue almost wanted Cinna to close his sockets again.   
  
Letting out a silent sigh, Blue let a knowing smile curl up onto on his face.He had an inklingthat all the blankets in this big, lonely house of Edge’s would never keep Red warm. He’d have to start thinking of different approaches. Maybe he could try hauling a big space heater into the room?    
  
“I’m not sure I can fit any more blankets on you, sweetheart...” He said gently, a soft smile on his face as he continued to stroke Cinna’s arm.   
  
“...M’ cold...!”Cinna wheezed again, sounding more upset, his voice that of a defiant child. Cinna couldn’t turn to anyone else for help, it would have to beBlue!Thankfully, an idea came to the bandanna clad skeleton, and he leaned in, voice soft and sweet.

  
“Alright... I have something that might help, okay? But I need you to let me go and find it...” He hummed gently, a small smile on his face.   
  
The bara in question let out a softgrunt and looked away, his hand flopping a little as they dangled own the side of the sofa. Blue took that as a positive sign, andslowlythe Swap stood up, took one last look at Red before leaving the room, flickering fireplace and all. 

The corridor felt freezing now! The thin carpet did nothing to warm his socked feetas he skittered upstairs, fingers dragging along the familiar grooves in the polished wooden bannister as he tried to pump himself up. He’d need to ask the man of the house, Edge, for a water bottle. Blue gulped.   
  
Edge was... _strict_ when it came to the health of Cinna. They had rules that were classed as slightly worrying- but Blue kept that to himself. You can’t go to the hospital without asking, you never go into the kitchen _eve_ _r_ _-_ _too bad if Edge didn’t want to cook that_ _day_ \- ThoughBue always smuggled snacks, so it wasn’t an issue!   
  
The big number one rule was especially worrisome; Blue had certainly thought so when he was invited to move in. ‘ _Do not call the authorities_ _’_ it read in bold red ink, circled and underlined at the bottom.Ironically, it was the only rule Blue had almost broken within the first three days.    
  
He’d been left alone to sleep in one morning and woke up only to find his mate missing, not curled snuggled up with pillows, as he always was. Blue almost slipped on the stairs in his hurry to find him, stopping at the last landing when he knew something was off. 

Out of the corner of his socket, he witnessedEdge straddling his brother as he beat the other into the ground. Blue stifled a horrified gasp, his body locking up as he stared at the scene in the kitchen. How had he not heard the awful banging noise? Or the warbled cries for mercy as Edge’s bloodied fist connected with either Cinna’s bones or the tiled floor... Blue could only dream of what caused Edge’s rage, but he was having a ‘bad day’ for sure.   
  
_It’s not his fault, he was having a bad day!_   
_He didn’t mean it; you know how he gets on bad days._   
_He doesn’t hate me. He_ _doesn’t_ _hate me, he just..._   
_It was_ _my_ _fault for_ _being_ _annoying_ _on one of his bad days!_ _Okay_ _?_ _!_   


Blue had shrieked without him realizing it , and in his  panic cried  he  that he’d _ call the police if  _ _ you _ _ d _ _ on’t  _ _ get off  _ _ him  _ _ right this instant _ _!! _ __

When his sockets opened again, time had passed, andBlue never figured out what came after those words. He remembered waking up in their bed, disoriented and confused, pretending not to hear the _“_ _My fault, all my fault_ _,”_ from his partner next to him.   
  
The swap had one hand on the handle to Edge’s study, knowing why he was nervous. He ignored the little nagging voice at the back of his skull that told him ‘you shouldn’tfear asking for favours’,took an uncomfortablebreath and rapped quickly on the door, feeling nothing but anxiety and a buried knot of angerwhen a sharp 'Come in, Blue...’ came from the other side. 

Breath in... Breath out...

With a few encouraging thoughts, Blue twisted the brass knob and let himself in quietly, skull bowed. He closed the door, _another_ rule, and shuffled awkwardly on the room’s carpet, doing anything to avoid the icy glare coming from the master of the house.    
  
_“..._ _I, I was wondering-”_   
  
“Speak up, Blue. I only see you mouthing like a goldfish over there!” Edge sneered, his voice nasally and grating in Blue’s skull. He was hunched over his laptop, gaze glued to the screen.   
  
Insults, always with the _insults._   
  
Blue forced back his glare andstood up straighter, his fists beside him and head up straight to meet Edge’s steely gaze. The taller, spikier skeleton finally bothered to sit up and look at Blue, his small red pupils homed in on the others face like a sniper’s laser, laughing under his breath. The smaller did his best to not feel too out in the open, or too defenceless.Vaguely, he realized he was shivering.   
  
“I-I need...! A hot water bottle!” Blue declared sharply, and that was enough to snap Edge out of his mirth. “Cinna is- um- very sick! And I would like him to be -”    
  
Edge cut him off with a wave of his hand, glaring. Blue fell silent, his confidence washed away by a bucket of ice-cold dread. He’d gone too far, hadn’t he? Edge was going to punish him! He didn’t want to be hit-! He didn’t-    
  
“Quit cowering, you worm... I’m going to find you the... _hot water bottle_. Stay there.” Edge's voice gritted out. Blue noticed he was indeed cowering andmade haste to wipe away his tears before the other noticed and nodded nervously. Blue’s gaze retreating to the ground again.    
  
After a few moments of awkward shuffling around the room in silence, Edge ‘ _finally_ _found the blasted thing..._ _’_ and handed it to Blue. Both refused to look at each other as the water bottle was handed over and another moment of awkward silence pursued. Until Edge started shrieking.    
  
“WELL?! GET OUT!! STOP STANDING AROUND!!” He motioned furiously at the door, his eyelights flaring. Blue let out a hiccup of terror and ran from the room, the door slamming shut behind him so suddenly he could feel the gush of misplaced air rustle his scarf   
  
Blue held the empty bottle to his chest. It was new,he vaguely realized, feeling a little detached. Edge had never just _given_ Blue what he asked for before. His hands _weren’t_ shaking and there _weren’t_ tears in his sockets. It wasn’t _fair!_ Someone like Edge wasn’t allowed to be nice!

He took a shaky breath. It was... fine. He was fine.

...

Item acquired, he had what he needed! The Swap bounced to his room, where he shook one of his many, (many) pillows and pulled off the cover. With a little work it... fits perfectly! Now the bottle had a nice fluffy cover, Cinna would love this!    
  
Blue did his best not to think about how nice Edge was back thereas he hopped down the stairs. Cinna’s brother was still just as horrible, and they were still going to move away as fast as they could, heck, Blue already had the plans for building a housefar away!   
  
Cinna was but a bundle of pillows and covers on the sofa, looking miserable. The tired soul in his chest had finally calmed down, and he felt less like he’d run a marathon. Cinna let out a weary mumble and closed his sockets when Blue gave him a little kiss as he passed by, headed for the kitchen. His tired pupils watched the other put the blurred fuzzy object on the counter andboil the kettle.    
  
Blue skittled back to the Cinna as soon as he could while keeping a socket on the boiling kettle and nestled down with the big bara, who made a little questioning sound.Cinna was happy to have Blue with him again, smiling wearily when his mate spoke to him.    
  
“Hey, big red...” Blue said gently, his nickname for the other rolling easily off the tongue. “Are you feeling any better...?” He asked gently and only received a huff in response. The poor thing sounded very bunged up.   
  
“I’m just boiling the kettle right now, and I'll give your gift to you very soon...” He cooed, leaning over the other and rubbing his arm. Gently, Cinna’s hand came up from the mountain of covers to hold Blues hand, and Blue squeezed it in return, giving it a little kiss as well, worried that his undying love for the other wasn’t noticeableenough.    
  
“...Stay. Now?” Cinna asked hopefully, peaking out a little hole in the blankets, like a baby bird. Blue couldn’t help but let out a soft ‘oh’ and leant in to gently kiss his cheek. “I just need to do _one_ more thing, okay? Then we can snuggle for the rest of the day... Is that okay...?”    
  
Cinna let out a disappointed whine and his skull sunk heavily into the pillows, but Blue could see him nod under there, so that was okay. The two spent a few more minutes with each other while the kettle boiled, but when Blue looked back to see steam shooting from the spout, he knew he had to go. “...Just for a few minutes, maybe not even that...” Blue re-affirmed, nudging his way carefully out of his mate’s hold, and skittered to the kitchen.    
  
Blue had never dabbled with hot water bottles before and stuck his tongue out as he thought. After turning off the stove, he stood for a moment, trying to figure out how to unscrew the lid. He began to tug on in, letting out a little frustrated noise. Gah, human things were annoying!Afew short yanks later, and the stopper came free with a ‘pop!’Blue’s hand was still careening back behind him, and his knuckles hit the scalding metal of the kettle with a resounding clang.

Blue cried out and dropped the open water bottle in the sink before stumbling back, little tears in his sockets from the shock. Blue let out a small hiss as he made his way to the sink to cool his poor hand off and.... oh.    
  
Cinna was staring at him, sitting up and looking concerned. Blue saw the way the baras’thick tail was coiled, and he knew he’d have to act fast before Cinna ‘rescued’ him from the dangerous situation.    
  
“B-Big Red!” He tried grinning, ignoring the sweat prickling the back of his neck. “It’s okay! I just hurt my hand, see? I’m okay!” He motioned to his hand under the running water, but it seemed Cinna’s fever addled mind didn’t understand that Blue was _safe_. One foot and then the next, the sick skeleton heaved himself out of the tangled blankets and began to lumber slowly towards Blue, using the furniture and the wall for support.    
  
Blue met him in the middle, of course he would!He wrapped his arms around the other's bigger frame in a hug, unable to help a hopeful laugh when the other did the same. Cinna’s hands were very cold and sweaty, and he could feel them shaking gently against his thin shirt. Blue looked up from nuzzling the other’s ribs to look at his gorgeous mate’s face and let out a soft, choked up giggle. It had been days since Cinna had been out of bed, andseeing the other’s sharp teeth and wobblilyeye lights seemed even more special now.    


“Hey... come on, you know you should be in bed...” He urged softly, and Cinna let out another one of his non-committal grunts, his sockets narrowing.    
  
“...Don’t wanna....” Cinnagrumbled, tail thumping weakly behind him in annoyance. He’d been on bedrest since, what, Thursday? It was Tuesday! He was sure hislegs would’ve fallen off if he stayed on the couch for much longer! Plus, he couldsay no to Blue... his mate wasn’t like Edge. He could backchat as much as he wanted and say no to things!   
  
Blue smiled, skull tilting a little. “I can’t give you your present standing up, silly...” He grinned. Blue saw the spark in his mate’s eyelight, and he knew that he was going to win this little spat.   
  
“...Is it another pillow...?” He asked cautiously. “...I don’t need ‘nother one... got so many already... ‘S gettin'uncomfy...” Cinna looked back to the mountain of them back on the couch and winced. His neck was already sore just looking at it.    
  
“Nope! Not another pillow! How exciting is that?” Blue grinned when Cinna’s expression lifted a tad. “Now, come on... let’s get you comfy, okay Big Red?” He said softly and moved forward a little, making sure as not to topple Cinna when he moved backwards.    
  
After a little while of struggling with sweaty blankets, Cinna was comfy again. The couch had been aired out too, so it wasn’t so stuffy. “There, that isn’t so bad, is it?” He hummed to the bara, who nodded his skull, yet again buried in fluffy things.    
  
“I’ll be back again, please stay put this time!” He grinned and jogged back to the kitchen island, leaving Cinna again. He turned off the tap that had been running all this time and picked up the sopping water bottle, wincing at the feel of soggy fur on his fingers. It wasn’t a problem, though! He began to air out the soggy gift with his magic until the fur was soft and fluffy again and smelled like lavender.    
  
Carefully, this time, he poured the hot water into the neck of the bottle and smiled as it began to warm his hand. Cinna was going to love this! He looked around for the stopper, which he’d dropped, and put it in carefully, making sure there were no leaks. He smiled at the fluffy thing, feeling proud of himself.    
  
Looking back at the couch confirmed that Cinna was still bundled up without a worry. He took a glance at his knuckles, frowning a little. They still stung bad, and the bone had turned a rosy red colour. He’d bandage it later, Blue decided. Cinna was more important!   
  
“Big Red...” Blue cooed, the water bottle behind his back as he stood by Cinna’s skull. The bara’s tired eyelightsdrifted to his mate’s face, and Blue knew he was smiling under there. “I’ve got your present behind my back. Close your sockets and hold out your hands!” He asked gently and grinned when Cinna did so, bending down to kiss the hands that had appeared from under the covers.    
  
“...A kiss...?” Cinna asked, sounding confused. He loved Blue’s little kisses... but all that work for a kiss...? Wow, Blue must really love him!    
  
“No, silly! Here...” Blue placed the fluffy water bottle into Cinna’s hands, but the bara flinched, almost dropping it.    
  
“An animal?! Blue- Blue, Boss _hates_ animals!” Cinna cried, alarmed, beginning to struggle out of the covers to stare horrified at Blue.    
  
“Not an animal! It’s not an animal, Cinna!” Blue was quick to reassure the other and let out a soft breath when he settled down, letting out a few breaths as he closed his sockets again.    
  
“N... Not an animal...” Cinna reassured himself and nodded, letting out a little startled noise when he felt Blue curling his hands around the thing. It felt warm... bouncy...Boobies? But boobs weren’t fluffy like this...    
  
Blue snickered at the conflicted expression on his mate’s face as he tried to figure it out, smiling as his claws combed the faux fur. “You can open your eyes if it’ll help...” He said softly, and Cinna did, looking down at the gift in his hands. It took him a little moment to recognize what it was.   
  
“A hot water bottle...?” He asked, a smile beginning to form. “It’s so soft...” He commented gently, bringing it up to his nose. “...An’ it smells like you...” He whispered hugging it to his sternum. It warmed his bones like the blankets and pillows couldn’t. He felt soft tears welling in his sockets, and curled around his new item, the flood gates opening when Blue curled in beside him, almost lost to the mountain of covers.    
  
“I like it...” Cinna snivelled; voice choked with emotion. “Wh\- where did you get it...?” He asked, hiccupping wetly. Blue wrapped his arms around the others arm, the hot water bottle nestled between them.    
  
“I brought it with me when I moved...” The lie slipped easily through him, and he almost felt guilty when Cinna nodded. “I’d never had a use for it until now... it’s all yours, Big Red...” Blue said softly, wrapping his mate's arms around him. They both shared the warmth of the water bottle as they fell asleep in each other's arms, knowing that the new comfort item would provide warmth for many more years.    
  
  


**Author's Note:**

> This took me MONTHS to write, and I'm not sure if it's because I was lazy or because it was 9 pages long! I think this is my first serious fic too lol. Criticism is encouraged!
> 
> [MERRY CHRIMBLE YOU LOVELY SPUD, I HOPE WE HAVE MANY MORE WITH EACHOTHER! <3]


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